Abstract
This application requests funding to support the travel expenses of early career researchers focusing
on renal and urothelial physiology, and presenting their research at the Epithelial Transport Group
(ETG) scientific sessions at the American Physiological Society (APS) Summit Meeting 2024. This
meeting was newly formed in 2023 and replaced the previous Experimental Biology meeting where
APS was one of the core societies. The new APS Summit meeting will be the stand alone, annual
meeting of the APS. All ETG sessions will occur in this annual meeting. APS Summit will take place
April 4-7th, 2024 in Long Beach, CA. The meeting will be held at the Long Beach Convention
Center, which offers an ADA-compliant infrastructure for individuals with disabilities and special
needs. ETG has a longstanding history of promoting interactions among physiologists from diverse
backgrounds who study biological processes in epithelia and encourages students, postdoctoral
fellows, and instructors to develop research careers in epithelial biology. Based on prior experience
and survey data, trainees consistently view the annual ETG sessions as a valuable training
experience that reinforces their interest in the field and promotes retention in epithelial-centric
biomedical research. Thus, we strive to optimize trainee exposure to ETG-related events by providing
travel award support for promising early career investigators with limited travel resources. This
application will solely focus on supporting early career researchers focused on KUH-centric
related research areas.
This year, ETG will continue to work in collaboration with the Renal Section in development of renal and
urothelial-focused topics and sessions. All trainees who submit ETG-based abstracts to the Renal
Section will be eligible for travel awards. The abstracts will be reviewed and scored jointly by
members of both the Renal Section and ETG Steering Committees. The travel awards will be
allocated based on merit. Award amounts will be contingent on the funds that are available.
Regardless of the amount; however, the budget incorporates an additional supplement to awardees
with child/family care needs in order to encourage meeting participation by trainees with primary
child/family care responsibilities. This is extended to other non-traditional family support needs. Top
scoring abstracts will be selected for oral presentations in the Hebert Lecture, and other Renal/ETG-
based session. In 2024, these prestigiouslectureships will recognize Drs. Volker Vallon (Hebert) and
Jonathan Kaunitz (Ussing) for their important contributions to epithelial biology and transport. This
format has proven popular among trainees, as it provides an exciting opportunity for talented early
career physiologists to present their research alongside preeminent scientists in a formal, but
collegial setting. We will continue our “pre-meeting” symposium, which had record attendance in
2023. This will provide additional opportunities for junior investigators to orally present their work
in a less formal atmosphere, with networking coffee breaks, lunchesand networking sessions. A
revised, interactive area framed as “The Hub”, will serve as a meeting point for ETG-related Renal
research, and provide an area for flash-talks, discussions and networking amongst prominent
scientists. This will include the “Meet the Experts” sessions. Given ETG’s commitment to diversity
and trainee mentoring, we believe that the support provided by this application will dovetail with the
proposed meeting structure to enhance career development of early career researchers interested
in epithelial physiology. Together, this will serve our long-term goal of maintaining the pipeline
of epithelial biologists in biomedical research careers related to the goals of KUH.
